Ringo Starr is stepping back into familiar territory with his first country album in over 50 years. The Beatles’ drummer has always had a soft spot for country music, evident in his performances on tracks like their covers of ‘Act Naturally’ and ‘Honey Don’t’, as well as his own country tune, ‘Don’t Pass Me By’.
His last foray into the genre, 1970’s Beaucoups of Blues, didn’t break records, peaking at 65 on the US Billboard 200 chart and failing to chart in the UK. Still, the album was praised for its authenticity, with some comparing it to Bob Dylan’s Nashville Skyline.
Ringo’s latest effort, called Look Up, continues that tradition. The first single, ‘Time On My Hands’, features the unmistakable twang of a pedal steel, capturing the wistful melancholy of classic country ballads. Chris Farlie of W21Music even likened Ringo’s vocals on the track to those of Willie Nelson, praising the relaxed and joyful energy that Starr brings.
Speaking about the album, Starr shared: “I’ve always loved country music. When I asked T Bone to write me a song, I didn’t even think it would be a country song – but of course, it was, and it was so beautiful. I had been making EPs at the time, so I thought we’d do a country EP. But when he brought me nine songs, I knew we had to make an album!”
Starr worked with producer T Bone Burnett, who praised Ringo’s talent and his monumental impact on music: “He changed the way every drummer after him played… none of the work I’ve done through a long life in music would have happened if not for him and his band.”
While promoting the album, Starr also touched on the Beatles’ latest release, ‘Now and Then’, a song completed using AI technology to separate John Lennon’s vocals from an old cassette demo. Like Paul McCartney, Ringo sees both the benefits and risks of AI in music. He praised its role in ‘Now and Then’, saying, “The good side is the way we used it,” but expressed concerns about its darker possibilities: “Anyone who knows how to use it can steal you. If they just play any five of my songs into the computer, AI gets all of it… They can have me sing anything and it will sound like me.”
This anxiety echoes McCartney’s comments last week about the potential of AI to undermine young musicians’ careers. McCartney warned that unchecked AI could “wipe out” opportunities for emerging artists, an idea Ringo seems to share, especially as the technology becomes more sophisticated, and its emulations become more and more convincing.
Imagine if the genius of Paul McCartney and The Beatles was re-created by Artificial Intelligence without their permission. It sounds like a dystopian nightmare, but now even McCartney is ringing alarm bells about AI theft of creative content. #StopAIthefthttps://t.co/vc047eGguQ
— MEAA (@withMEAA) December 10, 2024
The discussion of AI comes amid broader industry discussions. In the past month, McCartney, Kate Bush, Thom Yorke, and others signed a petition urging protections against AI models being trained on copyrighted material without consent.
Despite the growing uncertainty around AI, Starr’s upcoming album promises to showcase the joy and authenticity he’s brought to music for decades. Based on the singles released so far, it feels like a love letter to country music—a genre built on human storytelling, something even the best AI can’t replicate.
Look Up will be released on January 11, 2025, and is available to pre-save now on Spotify.
